Karnataka government seeks aid from corporates to build public schools

Time of India

2 days ago

Bengaluru: Unhappy with the progress of Karnataka public schools, the state govt has appointed nodal officers to coordinate and expedite the construction of CSR-funded schools.
Commissioner for industrial development, Gunjan Krishna was appointed as the coordinating officer; and Karnataka state industrial infrastructure development corporation, MD Khushboo G Chowdhary will be the CEO. The two officers will work with various corporates to mobilise CSR funds for schools.
KPSes are kindergarten to class 12 schools, which the govt wants to project as signature schools providing quality education with robust infrastructure.
The decision to appoint nodal officers was taken in view of the slow progress in setting up 2,000 KPSes in the state. The two officers will work to expedite the execution of this project, said the DCM's office in a press statement. Currently, there are 285 KPSes, and the plan is to add 2,000 more in three years.
In a review meeting, deputy chief minister
DK Shivakumar
took a dig at the district commissioners and zilla panchayat CEOs. "CSR funds to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore are available in the state.
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We gave clear instructions two years ago that they must be used to build KPSes. It has come to our notice that some corporations from the state are allocating CSR funds to private NGOs in other states and taking back 50% of that amount in cash. This is resulting in a loss for the state; it is our responsibility to use it for building the schools," he said.
He said the corporates need not give the govt any funds; they can build a school and hand it over to the govt.
"The govt can even provide lands and building designs. The corporates can brand the schools in their name," he said.
He asked the district administration to write letters to corporates and arrange a meeting with them. "The education department will provide designs for the schools; the corporates need to get a building up and running. Set a target to build one model public school in every taluk and, based on the feedback, set a target to build one school for three grama panchayats," he told DCs and CEOs.
The DCM said 13 CSR Karnataka public schools are being constructed in his constituency, and each of these schools costs between Rs 9 crore and Rs 12 crore. "The work is progressing well only in some regions, while there is negligence in other regions," he said.